Kumamoto Prefecture

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**Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県; *Kumamoto-ken*)**

Capital	Kumamoto
Region	Kyūshū
Island	Kyūshū
Governor	Yoshiko Shiotani
Area	7,404.14 km² (16^th)
- % water	0.2%
Population (October 1, 2005)
- Population	1,842,140 (23^rd)
- Density	249 /km²
Districts	10
Municipalities	48
ISO 3166-2	JP-43
Website	www.pref.kumamoto.jp/ english/list.html
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Gentian (Gentiana scabra var. buergeri)
- Tree	Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)
- Bird	Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
Symbol of Kumamoto Prefecture

Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県, Kumamoto-ken^?) is located on Kyūshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Tourism
6 Prefectural symbols
7 Miscellaneous topics
8 External links

[edit] History

Historically the area was called Higo province and was renamed to Kumamoto prefecture during the Meiji Restoration as part of the abolition of the feudal system. Kumamoto literally means "bear root/origin", or, in less stilted English, "origin of the bear".

[edit] Geography

Map of Kumamoto Prefecture.

Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands. It is bordered by the Ariake inland sea and the Amakusa archipelago to the west, Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture to the north, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south.

Mt. Aso (1592 m), an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the center of the Aso caldera, the most famous caldera in Japan.

[edit] Cities

Fourteen cities are located in Kumamoto Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Amakusa District

Reihoku

Ashikita District

Ashikita

Tsunagi

Aso District

Kamimashiki District

Kamoto District

Ueki

Kikuchi District

Kikuyo

Ozu

Kuma District

Shimomashiki District

Jonan

Misato

Tomiai

Tamana District

Yatsushiro District

Hikawa

[edit] Mergers

(as of March 27, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

On April 1, 2003, the municipalities of Fukada, Menda, Ue, Sue and Okaharu from Kuma District merged to form the new town of Asagiri.

On March 31, 2004, the towns of Himedo, Matsushima, Oyano and Ryugatake from Amakusa District merged to form the new city of Kami-Amakusa.

On November 1, 2004, the towns of Chuo and Tomochi from Shimomashiki District merged to form the new town of Misato.

On January 1, 2005, the towns of Tanoura and Ashikita from Ashikita District merged to form the new town of Ashikita.

On January 15, 2005, the towns of Misumi and Shiranuhi from Uto District and the towns of Matsubase, Ogawa and Toyono from Shimomashiki District merged to form the new city of Uki. Uto District was dissolved with this merger.

On January 15, 2005, the city of Yamaga merged with the towns of Kahoku, Kamoto, Kao and Kikuka from Kamoto District to form the new city of Yamaga.

On February 11, 2005, the municipalities of Aso, Ichinomiya and Namino from Aso District merged to form the new city of Aso.

On February 11, 2005, the municipalities of Yabe and Seiwa from Kamimashiki District and Soyo from Aso District merged to form the new town of Yamato in Kamimashiki District.

On February 13, 2005, the villages of Choyo, Hakusui and Kugino from Aso District merged to form the new village of Minamiaso.

On March 22, 2005, the city of Kikuchi merged with the municipalities of Kyokushi, Shichijo and Shisui from Kikuchi District to form the new city of Kikuchi.

On August 1, 2005, the city of Yatsushiro merged with the municipalities of Izumi, Kagami, Sakamoto, Sencho and Toyo from Yatsushiro District to form the new city of Yatsushiro.

On October 1, 2005, the towns of Miyahara and Ryuhoku from Yatsushiro District merged to form the new town of Hikawa.

On October 3, 2005, the city of Tamana merged with the towns of Taimei, Tensui and Yokoshima from Tamana District to form the new city of Tamana.

On February 27, 2006, the towns of Koshi and Nishigoshi from Kikuchi District merged to form the city of Koshi.

On March 1, 2006, the towns of Kikusui and Mikawa from Tamana District merged to form the new town of Nagomi.

On March 27, 2006, the cities of Hondo and Ushibuka merged with the towns of Amakusa, Ariake, Goshoura, Itsuwa, Kawaura, Kuratake, Shinwa and Sumoto (all from Amakusa District) to form the new city of Amakusa.

[edit] Economy

Kumamoto hosts a large Honda automobile plant. Beginning in 2007, a Honda factory on the site will produce non-silicon solar cells for homes and businesses, with a projected capacity roughly equivalent to 8,000 households/year.[1]